Aligner type orthodontic appliance

Abstract

To obtain an aligner type orthodontic appliance that is easy to remove and attach. [Solution] An aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10 that is placed over a dentition 20 to correct the tooth to be corrected comprises a hook 22 fixed to the surface of the tooth 40 to be corrected, a hole 12 formed in a position facing the hook 22 of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10, a protrusion 16 formed on the outer surface at a predetermined position from the hole 12 in a direction that corrects the inclination of the tooth to be corrected, and a rubber band 30 that is hung on the hook 22 of the tooth 40 to be corrected, passed through the hole 12 from the inside of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10, and hung on the protrusion 16.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to aligner-type orthodontic appliances. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, aligner-type orthodontic appliances (also simply called aligners) are sometimes used to straighten teeth.

[0003] Aligners are transparent mouthpieces created using plaster models of the patient's mouth and 3D scanning data of the mouth, and are less noticeable than conventional multi-bracket methods.

[0004] The following patent documents are available regarding such aligners. Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2022-173606) describes that it is possible to adjust the bite of the back teeth while maintaining the alignment of the front teeth in good condition, and to improve the bite of all teeth during the retention period.

[0005] Specifically, a continuous opening is provided that exposes the biting surface from the second molar to part of the canine, and it is formed to extend slightly less than 1 cm behind the last molar to cover it. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-173606 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the aligners in Patent Document 1 are not easy to remove and wear, which takes time and is unhygienic.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to obtain an aligner-type orthodontic appliance that is easy to remove and attach. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and comprises: (1) an aligner-type orthodontic appliance that is placed over a dentition to correct a tooth to be corrected, the appliance comprising: a hook fixed to the surface of the tooth to be corrected; a hole formed in the aligner-type orthodontic appliance at a position facing the hook; a protrusion formed on the outer surface at a predetermined position from the hole in a direction that corrects the inclination of the tooth to be corrected; and an elastic body that is hung on the hook of the tooth to be corrected and passed through the hole from the inside of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance to be hung on the protrusion.

[0010] (2) In (1) above, the elastic body is a rubber band, and one end of a wire of a specified length is passed through the rubber band and bent, and both ends of the wire are passed from the inside to the outside of the hole and hung on the protrusion.

[0011] (3) In the above (1), a part of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance that is placed over the dentition is a mouthpiece.

[0012] (4) In the above (3), the mouthpiece is made of elastic, transparent plastic.

[0013] (5) In the above (1), the hook is fixed to the tooth to be orthodontized by an adhesive.

[0014] (6) In the above (1), the protrusion is formed on the outer surface at a predetermined position from the hole in a direction opposite to the inclination of the tooth to be corrected. Effect of the Invention

[0015] As described above, according to the present invention, an aligner-type orthodontic appliance that is easy to attach and remove from the teeth can be obtained. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] The drawings show particular embodiments of the invention, including essential features of the invention as well as alternative and preferred embodiments. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aligner-type orthodontic appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] This is an oblique view of a mouthpiece made of elastic, transparent plastic that constitutes an aligner-type orthodontic appliance. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the prepared mouthpiece. [Diagram 5] 1(a) to 1(c) are explanatory views illustrating the process of fixing a hook to a tooth to be orthodontic treated. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the process of threading a rubber band through a mouthpiece. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the process of hanging a rubber band on a hook. [Figure 8] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the process of pulling out the rubber band from the hole. FIG. [Figure 9] 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the process of hanging the pulled-out rubber band on a protrusion. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In this example, the description of already known technologies will be omitted. In addition, the structures and methods for embodying the technical idea of ​​the invention are exemplified, and the technical idea of ​​the invention is not limited to the following. The technical idea of ​​the invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the matters described in the utility model claims. In particular, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and may differ from the actual product.

[0018] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a top view of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a mouthpiece 11 made of elastic transparent plastic, which is one of the components that make up the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10.

[0019] The aligner type orthodontic appliance 10 is composed of a mouthpiece 11 having a hole 12 (hole 12 formed at a position corresponding to the tooth to be corrected) formed on the distal side and a protrusion 16 formed on the side at a position a predetermined distance from the hole 12, a hook 22 formed directly on a distal tooth (e.g., the most posterior tooth 40) of a person's dentition 20 (in this example, a plaster model is described, but in practice, it is used by covering the person's dentition), and a rubber band 30 as an example of an elastic body hung on the hook 22 and the protrusion 16. The mouthpiece 11 is placed over the entire dentition 20. This makes it possible to distribute the force that the dentition 20 receives from the rubber band 30. Furthermore, it can be firmly fixed.

[0020] Also, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, in this example, the mouthpiece 11, which is a component of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10, will be described as being used to raise the inclination of the seventh tooth (the backmost tooth) 40 to the correct position (also called uprighting).

[0021] The mouthpiece 11 has a hole 12 (3 mm to 5 mm) formed near the end 14 of the right molar, for example, through which a rubber band 30 (approximately 3 mm wide and 1 mm to 2 mm thick) can be passed, and further has a protrusion 16 (2 mm to 4 mm in diameter, 3 mm to 5 mm in height) formed on the side surface at a predetermined distance from the hole 12 (for example, around the fourth tooth).

[0022] Also, a metal or plastic hook 22 (diameter 2 mm to 3 mm, height 3 mm to 4 mm: preferably T-shaped, see FIG. 5(c)) is directly fixed to the end of a tooth 40 (the seventh tooth in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) of the dentition 20. The hook 22 is fixed to the tooth 40 by, for example, an adhesive.

[0023] That is, in the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10 of this embodiment, a rubber band 30 is attached to a hook 22 on a tooth 40 of a dentition 20 and passed through a hole 12 formed in a mouthpiece 11, and from here the rubber band 30 is attached to a protrusion 16 formed on the side of the mouthpiece 11 which becomes a predetermined position, thereby applying an orthodontic load to the tooth 40.

[0024] As a procedure prior to actually attaching the hook 22 to the patient's dentition 20, if the patient's teeth (not shown) are inclined like the above-mentioned teeth 40, the dentist actually bonds the hook 22 to the patient's teeth 40. Attachment is preferably performed with an adhesive.

[0025] The patient then uses a wire to attach rubber band 30 to hook 22, which will be described later, passes rubber band 30 through hole 12 with the wire, and then attaches mouthpiece 11 to dentition 20 by attaching rubber band 30 to protrusion 16 on the side of mouthpiece 11, which will be in the specified position. This allows the patient to easily wear mouthpiece 11 of this embodiment, for example, before going to sleep at night.

[0026] Next, the process for fitting the aligner type orthodontic appliance 10 will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 9. Note that a general method is used for manufacturing the aligner type orthodontic appliance 10, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, a hole 12 for passing a rubber band 30 is formed in a mouthpiece 11 constituting a part of an aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10 at a position corresponding to the tooth to be uprighted (the tooth to be raised) (for example, the position closest to the tooth to be raised).

[0028] Then, a protrusion 16 is formed on the side of the mouthpiece 11 at a location (a predetermined distance) where the rubber band 30 is to be attached. Although the hook 22 (plastic, metal, etc.) is actually bonded directly to the patient's teeth to be corrected, this example is described using the dentition 20.

[0029] That is, as shown in Fig. 5(b), hook 22 for hanging rubber band 30 is directly adhered to the centrifugal force in the direction in which the tooth to be uprighted (tooth to be raised; in this embodiment, tooth 40) is to be moved. As a result, the state shown in Fig. 5(a) changes to that shown in Fig. 5(b), and hook 22 is fixed to tooth 40 to be orthodontic treated. It is desirable for hook 22 to have a T-shape or the like so that rubber band 30 can be easily hung on it and is difficult to remove (see Fig. 5(c)).

[0030] 6, a rubber band 30 (a rubber band as an example of an elastic body) is prepared, one side of a wire 50 (length 200 mm to 350 mm) is passed through the rubber band 30, and the other side is folded over the rubber band 30. The wire 50 is folded at a position that is approximately halfway along its entire length.

[0031] Then, the wire 50, which has been cut in half, is passed through the hole 12 from the outside of the mouthpiece 11. This makes it possible to easily pass the rubber band 30 through the hole 12.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 7, the rubber band 30 is hooked onto the hook 22 of the tooth 40 to be corrected, and as shown in Fig. 8, the wire 50 is pulled and tension is applied while the mouthpiece 11 is attached to the dentition 20. This completes the fitting of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10.

[0033] Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the rubber band 30 is hung on the projection 16 while being pulled by hand.

[0034] As a result, the tooth 40 to be uprighted (the back tooth in this embodiment) receives force in the center direction, so that the tooth is correctly straightened. Also, the patient can easily attach and detach the aligner-type orthodontic appliance 10 from the teeth by themselves.

[0035] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims. In addition, it is also possible to combine all or a plurality of the components of the above-described embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10 Aligner-type orthodontic appliances 11 Mouthpiece 12 holes 16 protrusions 20 Plaster model (dentition) 22 Hook 30 Rubber Band

Claims

1. An aligner-type orthodontic appliance that is placed over the dentition to correct the teeth to be corrected, A hook fixed to a surface of the tooth to be corrected; A hole formed in a portion of the aligner type orthodontic appliance facing the hook; a protrusion formed on an outer surface at a predetermined position in a direction from the hole to the direction for correcting the inclination of the tooth to be corrected; and an elastic body that is hooked onto the hook of the tooth to be corrected, passed through the hole from the inside of the aligner-type orthodontic appliance, and hooked onto the protrusion.

2. The aligner-type orthodontic appliance according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is a rubber band, and one end of a wire of a predetermined length is passed through the rubber band and bent, and both ends of the wire are passed from the inside to the outside of the hole and hung on the protrusion.

3. The aligner-type orthodontic appliance according to claim 1 , wherein a part constituting the aligner-type orthodontic appliance that is placed over the dentition is a mouthpiece.

4. The aligner-type orthodontic appliance of claim 3 , wherein the mouthpiece is made of a resilient transparent plastic.

5. The aligner-type orthodontic appliance according to claim 1 , wherein the hooks are secured to the teeth to be corrected by an adhesive.

6. The aligner-type orthodontic appliance according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion is formed on the outer surface at a predetermined position that is opposite to the inclination of the tooth to be corrected from the hole.

Images